Intellectual Property Guides
Brands, designs and creative work
Explore articles on trade marks, industrial designs, copyright and ownership of business assets. These articles provide general information, not legal advice.
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Begin with the Malaysian trade mark, copyright and design articles, or read about our intellectual property services. Overseas and digital-asset commentary is labelled by jurisdiction; read it in that context and do not assume it describes Malaysian law.
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30 Oct 2011
Curta Mechanical Calculator
This is the Curta calculator, said to be the best mechanical calculator and widely used in the 1970's until the electronic calculator became popular. From Wikipedia: The Curta…
4 Sep 2010
Check for Plagiarism with Search Engines
Dear reader Plagiarism is a problem for content providers. Sometimes companies or publications pay for independent writers to provide write-ups for their website, only to find that the…
31 Jul 2010
Fairouz – Disputes Over Song Royalties
Dear Reader, On 31st July 2010 the Dubai-based Gulf News reported that famous Lebanese singer, Fairouz, was embroiled in a dispute over song royalties. The iconic singer, who…
30 Jul 2010
First Synthetic Organism Created
Dear Reader, Meet Mycoplasma mycoides JCVI-syn1.0. Also known as "Synthia". In May 2010, Wall Street Journal reported that scientists at the J Craig Venter Institute had created the…
29 Jul 2010
Telephone inventor, Meucci, recognised after death
Dear Reader, Who hasn't heard of Alexander Graham Bell? He is widely credited as the inventor of the telephone. However, if that is what you know, then you…
13 Jun 2010
Death of the ATM Inventor
Dear Visitor, My apologies for not updating this blog recently. On May 15th, 2010, John Shepherd-Barron, widely credited to be the inventor of the ATM machine, passed away…
17 Mar 2010
Failure & Neglect
The Story of the Inventive Man Who Didn't Patent His Invention Once, in a faraway land, an inventive man observed a social phenomenon. He saw how society did…
19 Jan 2010
Origami & Patents
Introduction How many philanthropists have raised money for charity by making and selling origami? Fifth grader Sebastian Carpenter, only 11 years old, did just that, raising USD$610 for…
16 Jan 2010
WWW-What? On Domain Names and Cybersquatting
Dear Reader, Introduction The business of registering, holding and selling domain names has become an industry in itself, almost akin to real estate. In January 2005, when the…
9 Dec 2009
Checking Your Trademark Application Status
Most people wonder at what stage their trademark application has reached. It is normal to wonder. Recently, however, I have come across this particular page whereby users can…
24 Aug 2009
The Better Mousetrap Fallacy
Katie Konrath, blogging at the Brazen Careerist, writes about the fallacies of imagining that if you manage to invent a better mousetrap, consumers will beat a pathway to…
16 Jul 2009
Peer Review of Patents
An interesting idea has taken place in the US. Imagine what would happen if your patents were examined by members of the patent community? Imagine what time would…
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These articles provide general information, not legal advice. Check each article’s date and jurisdiction: older material may describe rules that have changed.
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